Tim Curry, of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and 'It' fame, dies at 80

Legendary actor and The Rocky Horror Picture Show star Tim Curry died on Tuesday night in Los Angeles at the age of 80. TMZ was first to report the news. Curry's longtime friend and manager, Marcia Hurwitz, confirmed his death to the Associated Press . The cause of his death has not been disclosed.

The British actor suffered a stroke in 2012 that left him partially paralyzed, and he had been dealing with serious health issues for more than a decade. According to TMZ, police responded to his home at 11:23 p.m. on Tuesday. There is no foul play suspected.

Curry is best known for his wide range of comedic and often villainous roles, accompanied by his unmistakable, rich, theatrical laugh. He started his professional acting career in the late 1960s, shortly after graduating from the University of Birmingham in the U.K.

The actor told CBS's Sunday Morning last year that acting excited him, because it was "The freedom of being somebody else."

Curry's first paid acting gig was a 1968 London production of Hair, where he met actor Richard O'Brien, who wrote the 1975 musical comedy The Rocky Horror Picture Show . It was then that Curry landed his breakout role as the corset-and-fishnet-stocking-wearing Dr. Frank-N-Furter, which later became a cult classic.

"He gave a lot of teenagers permission to be different, and I'm very happy that he did have that power," Curry told CBS, referring to the flamboyant character.

In 1990, Curry also portrayed the terrifying character Pennywise the clown in Stephen King's adaptation of "It." His other widely known roles included Mr. Hector, the Plaza Hotel's nosy personal concierge in 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York .

Curry's other memorable movie credits include Annie (1982), Clue (1985), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Three Musketeers (1993), Muppet Treasure Island (1996) , Addams Family Reunion (1998) and Scary Movie 2 (2001).

While Curry played a wide range of roles, he wrote in his 2025 memoir "Vagabond" that he was not like any of them. "The distinctions between who I really am and who I've pretended to be as an actor have proven to be a source of great disappointment to some audiences," he wrote. "It has not caused me much personal distress beyond the periodic necessity to deter stalkers."

Over the course of his career, Curry also earned three Tony nominations for his performances in "Spamalot," "My Favorite Year" and "Amadeus." He earned a 1994 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his multi-role performance on Tales from the Crypt .

"I don't fear death, I try to avoid it," Curry told CBS with a chuckle, "as I think we all do."

"But I suspect that in the end I will welcome it … I think it may be comforting to go bye- bye, and I want to earn it," Curry said with a laugh.

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